Working at a Haunted Mansion Chapter 60

Lily kept coming up with theories.

‘Maybe a rich man wanted to decorate an entire floor of a townhouse for his future daughter. But since it’d be a waste to leave it unused, he decided to let the caretaker use it for now.’

And that same crazy rich man, exhausted from a string of thieving servants, gave the new caretaker a pouch full of gold as a silent warning: Take this, and don’t get greedy for more.

She was desperately spinning any story that made the situation seem more believable.

Part of her just wanted to drive Aiden Kashimir out of her mind. She wanted to forget—truly forget—that relationship which had ended.

As if taking it out on someone, she plucked a grape and brought it to her mouth—then paused.
The taste and texture were unlike anything she’d ever had. Carefully, she spat out the seed and reached for another.

Mark Idyrins had wanted her to eat these grapes…

When half the bunch remained, a knock came at the front door.

“Delivery!”

Wiping her hands on her apron, she stepped outside to find a mail carrier with a large bag slung at his side.

He handed her a paper-wrapped package, received her signature, and left. The sender was the butler.

Raising and lowering the parcel, she guessed at the contents. Based on the size and weight, it was definitely a book.

‘A book? What kind of book?’

Lily returned to the sitting room and opened the wrapping. As she expected, there was a single book inside—along with a half-folded note.

“I forgot one more of your duties. Each week, you’ll receive a book from the publisher. Please read it and decide whether it belongs in the master’s study. His areas of interest are humanities, philosophy, and geography. If the book does not fall within these categories, please discard it…”

Her voice turned sour as she read the short message aloud.

This from the man who had written such meticulous work instructions? And yet somehow he’d “forgotten” a key task like managing the book collection?

She set the note down and picked up the book—only to suddenly feel something was off. She turned it over and inspected it more closely.

This book was far too plain for a noble’s library. No gold leaf on the cover, no leather binding. Flipping through it quickly, she didn’t see a single colored illustration.

It was clearly a cheap mass-market edition meant for middle-class entertainment. The text was densely packed to save on paper, and the pages were rough.

The content didn’t match the stated interests of Mark Idyrins either—no sign of philosophy, humanities, or geography. Surely whoever placed the order had communicated the intended genres—so why this?

All these strange details brought her suspicions about the grapes right back to the surface.

And then, at last, Lily burst out laughing.

“Ha… haha… Oh, Your Excellency, were you even trying to hide your identity? Honestly, it doesn’t seem like you were.”

Chin in hand, she recalled an old memory.

“Then I’ll have to bring you a new book every time you finish one.”

—Don’t you dare forget that promise.

She had been so happy when he said that. Even though he was the one giving, he sounded just as excited as she was. She could still picture the vivid green garden behind him, the sunny sky…

But now everything had changed.

That promise meant nothing anymore.
Joy and excitement had become words with no connection to them.

Even if Aiden Kashimir harbored nothing but hatred for her now, Lily felt she could accept that. But it seemed he didn’t feel the same way.

Why is he doing this? Lily bit her lip, her frustration making her head spin.

What does he want from me? He’s given her this perfect, peaceful environment—treated her like something to be cherished—but then what? What happens when he gets bored of her?

What if, in the end, he realizes that Lily Dienta of that day was right all along—that she wasn’t someone worth all this effort? Was he trying to make her suffer alone?

Lily wanted to hate him—wanted to wrap her frustration in anger and direct it at Aiden.

But she couldn’t.

She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling with eyes growing hot, exhaling deeply.

If you keep doing this… I…

Her eyes finally overflowed. Even when she rubbed them hard, the tears returned quickly. She pressed her sleeve to her face.

She felt like a fool. A fool for remembering that broken promise so vividly. A fool for Aiden trying to find some way back to her. A fool for crying over it all and still lacking the courage to return to the estate.

Can’t I just pretend I don’t know?

She had the most foolish thought of all.

I could play along—act like I never noticed. Stay as the caretaker until he gets tired of it all… He saved my life. Isn’t this the least I can do?

Sniffling, Lily picked up the book.

“Golden Magnifier…”

She had never heard of it before. From a quick glance, it seemed to be a religious-themed adventure novel, but she couldn’t be sure.

After a short pause, she got to her feet. Shoulders slumped, she moved slowly to boil water and prepare some tea.

The tea leaves gave off a needlessly luxurious aroma, and that brought a fresh sting to her eyes.

At last, after a long while, she finished preparing the tea, washed her hands, and opened the book.

 

 

 

****

 

 

Lily only lifted her head again when the sitting room had grown too dark to make out the words on the page.

She thought reading the book he had sent was a foolish thing to do, but in the end, it had turned out to be a very effective way to pass the time.

As long as she kept reading, she could keep forgetting.

She stood up and went to look for a candle.

“It should be… over there—ow!”

Even though she bumped her thigh hard on the corner of a piece of furniture she hadn’t seen, she didn’t stop moving.

After finding matches and a candlestick, she returned to the table, lit the flame, and downed the now-cold tea in one gulp.

Then, without even stretching out her stiff shoulders, she buried her nose back in the book.

 

 

****

 

 

 

Julius Sheiwertz stood in the middle of a wreck.

The cottage, once simple but well-equipped, now looked like it had been ravaged by a storm.

Even the chapel where the sacred artifact had been kept hadn’t escaped the chaos—his protective ring lay on the floor among splinters of wood.

He turned his head and stared through the shattered window. Still no sign of the woman.

“How many days has it been? Ten? Fifteen? A month?”

The season had crept into early autumn. The greenery had begun to fade, and the days were noticeably shorter. In all that time, Julius had been left alone in this isolated building—unvisited, forgotten.

Crash—

The last pane of glass, barely clinging to the window frame, shattered completely. It was only then, as the sound rang in his ears, that Julius realized he’d lost control.

He clasped his trembling hands together.

The spots that had once dotted his arms were now spreading fast, consuming his entire forearms. His mind was beginning to rot again. He had to calm the fury.

He paced the room in panic, searching for a place to sit. But there was none. Even the bed had split in two and collapsed in on itself.

In the end, he knelt on the floor and tried to recall the voice of the soul healer who had once guided him. He began to meditate.

Breathe calmly. Face your emotions. Recognize that they are separate from you—objective things.

Julius faced the fear inside him. He might never reclaim the glory of the throne. He might be trapped here forever—unable to die, unable to sleep, standing with open eyes like this for all eternity…

That fear gnawed at his sanity with each passing moment. Soon, he forgot all about meditation and was completely consumed.

[No, no…]

When he came back to his senses, he realized he had been scratching the floor.

An incorporeal hand doesn’t leave marks. It doesn’t break fingernails.

Only the shifted shadows in the room showed how long he had been doing it.

—You idiot!

[Ah… Ahhh…]